17th of May
The 17th of May is Norway’s national holiday. This is a huge celebration, and a little different than America’s Independence Day. Here, everyone in the town dresses in their finest clothing- bunads, if folks are lucky enough to own one- and come out into the town for a parade and other festive activities. I of course wore my bunad for this very special day, and Aaron and I both enjoyed the experience of seeing what a real 17th of May celebration looks like. We walked through town and greeted many people that I know. In the afternoon, I walked in the parade with my choir. I’ve never seen so many people here in Ås. I think the entire population of the town turned out for the parade!
It was really cool to see how Norwegians celebrate their independence day. People dress in their finest and put on quite a celebration. I don’t think that Americans could pull off a celebration quite like this. But in Norway, with it’s heritage and history, this type of celebration is very fitting. What a fun day it was!
